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When plans were unveiled two months ago for the merger of the University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of Texas-Pan American and the creation of a new University of Texas System medical school in the Rio Grande Valley, the statewide bipartisan support for the proposal came as a pleasant surprise.

It was refreshing to witness immediate buy-in to the proposal from 19 of the state's 31 senators who signed on as authors or co-sponsors of the enabling legislation. Even Gov. Rick Perry voiced support of the plan during his State of the State.

Things don't look so rosy now. The recent infighting that has developed among the Rio Grande Valley legislative delegation and the turf battle brewing among the various South Texas communities about the location of the medical school have made some state lawmakers express misgiving about the bill's future.

The Rio Grande Valley has never had it easy when it comes to expanding higher education opportunities for its residents. The South Texas border is one of the country's most economically depressed and medically underserved regions.

There is much to be gained from locating a new medical school in the region. It is troubling to see all the hard work thus far marred by the politics displayed in Austin last week during the Senate Higher Education Committee hearing.

It undermines public confidence in the proposal when members of the legislative delegation and Rio Grande Valley civic leaders cannot work out their differences and present a united front before the Legislature on this very important issue.

This is not about the upper or lower Rio Grande Valley and who can claim the most political clout in Austin. Location of a medical school anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley will benefit the entire region.

The bigger picture must remain the focus. The location of the medical school is only one of several big decisions ahead.

As the plans for the medical school move along, there will be decisions to be made about creating a hospital taxing district to help fund and support the project.

That, too, will require negotiating and consensus building as the communities decide if the district will encompass one or more counties.

Regional politics should not be allowed to stand in the way of the South Texas medical school.